Glorious Enslavement. Anya RichardsЧитать онлайн книгу.

      And I hear the Goddess laugh, although I do not understand why.

      Chapter Two

      He names me Laelia. As time passes, I learn his language a little at a time. More importantly, I begin to discover who my master, Gaius Antonius Capito, is.

      Much of what I hear comes from his Greek slave, Yanos, who traveled from Rome with the master. Yanos hates Britannia. The master, he says, should return to Rome, for there much honor awaits. Look at how the other men of Verulamium, even the old ones, come to him for advice and so often bow to his superior knowledge. See the business he has built without the benefit of help from his wealthy family, with only his own wits and hands. Gaius Antonius Capito should be a senator, or a praetor, solidifying his standing with a worthy title.

      It is easy to see why Yanos feels the way he does. Proud, harsh, exacting, Gaius Antonius is truly master of his house, his business, his life. No one crosses him, no one questions. If he wishes, it is done. Why has he chosen to make his fortune apart from his powerful family, in this distant outpost, instead of taking his place beside them at the heart of Rome’s power? Perhaps it is pride, I think. Or does the heart of an adventurer beat beneath the urbane exterior he shows the world?

      I do all I can to prove my devotion to him, and him alone. Everything I am commanded to do is done with willing heart and hands. I go to the market to purchase his food, serve at table, wash his clothing and clean his villa. But it is in my service to him at night that I find my greatest joy, and pain.